Volunteer monitoring at Lake Burien occurred in 1994, 1998, and 2000-2004, before being discontinued. The data collected classify this lake in the city of Burien as low to moderate in primary productivity (oligotrophic - mesotrophic) with very good water quality that appears to be steady over time.

Profile data suggested that thermal stratification was not stable through summer, and phosphorus concentrations did not build up in deep water. Nitrogen to phosphorus ratios generally remained above 20:1 through summer, which suggests that other algae are favored over bluegreens.

Lake Burien has no public access boat ramp, but residents should continue to watch near-shore aquatic plants to catch early infestations of noxious aquatic weeds.

This bathymetric map shows contour lines of equal depth, similar to a topographic map would for mountains and valleys. The red 'X' marks the location where water quality samples are taken.

This map shows the area of the watershed relative to the area of the lake. Generally speaking, the larger a watershed is relative to a lake, the greater the influence land use practices on lake water quality.

Through a combination of efforts by volunteer lake monitors and King County staff,
data relating to physical, chemical, and biological aspects of the lake have been
collected for most lakes. The King County Lake Stewardship Program analyzes data
to track long-term water quality trends in small lakes in western King County.

View or Download DataUse this tool to view or download data from the lake in tabular format. You can
define date ranges and select which parameters to view or download.

Chart DataUse the charting tool to look at graphs showing single parameters for a single
water year at a time.

Water quality over time
A common method of tracking water quality trends in lakes is by calculating the
“trophic state index” (TSI) (Carlson, 1977) and testing the values for positive or
negative trends over time. TSI indicators predict the biological productivity of the lake
based on water clarity (Secchi) and concentrations of total phosphorus (TP) and chlorophyll
a (Chlor). Generally at least 8 years of data without major lake management
activities are needed to have confidence in a significant trend.

The average of these three TSI indicators during the growing season can be used
to place lakes in one of three broad categories:
<40 = oligotrophic (low productivity),
40 to 50 = mesotrophic (moderate productivity)
>50 = eutrophic (highly productive).